From where I stand

Do the Bible and Science Come from the Same Author?

The Bible is not a scientific text, and it isn’t meant to be. Yet, we find stunning consistency between the statements about the universe described in the Bible and the facts about the universe revealed by science millennia after the biblical statements were made. In fact, the Bible stands alone among the sacred texts of the world religions in its consistency with modern science, according to Hugh Ross in his book, The Fingerprint of God.

For that reason, Christians (and Jews) should not fear modern science, though many modern scientists may be anti-theistic in their orientation. Modern people of science also should not be ignorant of the Bible. The Bible and science can and do get along. Even if a person ultimately rejects the truths of the Bible, rejecting it from a place of ignorance isn’t very scientific!

From that open-minded perspective, let’s explore some of the things the Bible states about God that are harmonious with what we now know of the universe.[1]

Modern science reveals that the universe had a beginning and sprang into existence from a point of singularity. The Bible reveals that God existed before the universe, exists totally apart from the universe and created the universe from nothing:

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Colossians 1:16-17

For by[2] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible … all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Modern science reveals that time had a beginning, and the Scripture also reveals that time had a beginning and that God’s activity preceded time:

II Timothy 1:8-9

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began[3]….

Titus 1:1-2

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began[4]and at the proper time manifested in his word….

While science does not tell us these things, Scripture tells us that God is triune, and the person or aspect of God we call the Son created the universe. He had no beginning and was not created. In this aspect, God introduced Himself into his creation in the form of a man, Jesus of Nazareth:

John 1:1-3, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made…. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Colossians 1:16-17

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Philippians 2:7

[God] emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Science reveals that the universe exploded into its present existence out of a void, which some might describe as a point of singularity. The Bible tells us that God created the universe from nothing, which some would assert is from that which cannot be detected by the five senses:

Hebrews 11:3

[T]he universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

For a Being to create the matter, time and space that is the universe such a Being would necessarily have to exist outside of, apart from and be other than matter, time and space.

Biology and chemistry reveal that all life consists of information/code that we call DNA. The universe also operates by a kind of information or code we call the laws of physics. Quantum mechanics tells us that information underlies the universe and is even more “real” than the matter, time and space that comprise the universe like the movie the Matrix.[5]

Hugh Ross calls this primordial and timeless information “matrix” an “extra-dimensionality” that is in operation when miracles occur, like the resurrection of Jesus Christ, including his ability to walk through walls in his resurrected body, which reads in the Gospels like a science fiction movie:

Luke 24:36-43

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish,and he took it and ate before them.

John 20:26-28

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

If God operates outside of matter, space and time, He can be omnipresent and omniscient, which is what the Bible tells us. God can be near each one of us, though we can’t see Him, because of His extra-dimensionality:

Psalm 139:1-4, 7 & 16

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

….

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?

….16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

We know from science that the universe is finely tuned from the very first nanosecond of the Big Bang to sustain life on planet earth.[6] The Bible tells us that God created planet earth to be fit for life and, specifically, human habitation.

Nehemiah 9:6

“You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them….”

Isaiah 45:18

18 For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it empty,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.

Of course, the first chapters of Genesis describe that God created the earth for the habitation of man.

There is much, much more in the Bible that speaks to the formation of the universe and the development of life. If you’re interested in a fascinating story on the subject, you might listen to the self-described story of Hugh Ross, who knew he wanted to be an astrophysicist from the age of 8, describe how he came to belief in God through nothing other than a Bible and his vast knowledge of the science of cosmology.[7] He even deduced that the Bible is more reliable than the Second Law of Thermodynamics based on his analysis and calculations.

To listen to a take on quantum mechanics that suggests brings modern science amazingly close to a biblical understanding of the universe, watch this video from the starting place, or go back to the beginning and watch the whole thing:

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[1] These “biblical statements of cosmological significance” are taken from Table 16:1 from The Fingerprint of God by Hugh Ross, 2nd edition, Promise Publishing Company (1991) p. 180.

[2] The word that can be translated with the word “by “can also be translated with the word “in”.